Laurel man’s new BMW catches fire outside BJ’s in Riverhead

The Riverhead Fire Department quickly extinguished a car fire in the parking lot of BJ’s Wholesale Club Saturday afternoon.

The call came in about 1:30 p.m. and firefighters, who responded with three engines and a full crew, had the blaze under control within 10 minutes.

The fire sent white smoke billowing into the air toward the north end of the BJ’s parking lot. There were no injuries.

The car’s owner, Craig Hasday of Laurel, said he was shopping in BJ’s with his son when an announcement came over the public address system saying a car with his license plate number was on fire in the parking lot.

The car was new, a 2012 BMW, he said. He was able to get his belongings out of the car, but believes the car is totaled.

The fire capped a trying day for Mr. Hasday.

“I just put my father into a hospice today, so compared to that, this is nothing,” he said.